Speed Dating
by Katie500
Summary: When Lorelai's night of speed dating goes south she calls in her knight in shining... plaid to rescue her. An AU story where I see if I can get these two kids together much sooner.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi all I'm back again with another story about my favourite Stars Hollow couple. This one will probably be a few chapters long so bare with me as I get the rest of it written. Hope you all enjoy.

Also obviously I don't own these characters I'm just borrowing them ( except Sara I can count her as mine haha)

"Luke I need help" Those four words were enough to make Luke sit up straight.

"What? Where are you? What's happened? Are you okay? Is Rory okay?"

"Luke calm down Rory is fine and I'm physically unharmed but I fear I may be mentally scarred after tonight!"

"Okay now i'm just confused, where are you?"

" I'm in a bar in Hartford and due to dire circumstances I'm a teensy bit too drunk to drive home"

"So you need a lift?"

"Bingo, top prize answer

"Whoopie for me, where are you?"

…..

This was supposed to be a fun night, Sara had promised her a fun night. Sara, a friend from her business class had been trying to persuade her to do this for ages and she had finally worn her down. Speed dating, a night of fun and flirting is what she had been promised. Rory was staying at the Kim's so she had a free night and could hopefully meet some interesting guys. Interesting was definitely one word to describe the 'talent' here tonight Lorelai thought scornfully as she looked around the bar. The evening got off to a bad start when five minutes after signing in for the event with her first drink in hand Lorelai checked her cell to find she had missed a call from Sara while she was driving.

"Lorelai I'm so sorry to do this to you, I know it was my idea and everything but i'm not going to make it tonight. I'll explain properly when I see you in class. Look i'm really sorry but you should definitely still go. I'll make it up to you I promise!" her voicemail told her.

"You better have a damn good excuse Sara" Lorelai muttered to herself. She hadn'd been keen on the idea of speed dating in the first place and now her moral support had deserted her. Making a quick decision Lorelai started for the door, unfortunately right then the lady at the registration table turned round and told her they were about to start. Without letting Lorelai utter a word in response the small woman herded her back towards the crowd with a surprising amount of force. Damn! not quick enough she thought.

From there the evening seemed to spiral dramatically downwards. She had already endured her time with the sci-fi obsessive, the guy who spent the entire time talking to her chest, the militant vegan, the guy who still lives with his mother, the guy who she was pretty sure was high on something and last but not least the guy who spent their entire 'date' telling her how she wasn't as pretty as his last girlfriend. Thus the need for lots and lots of alcohol, she had slipped one of the waiters a generous tip to keep her drinks flowing throughout the night. It was only when she got to the bottom of her fifth martini that she remembered that she had driven there. She did the addition in her head and came to the conclusion that she was already way over her limit to drive home. While she was musing on her options for getting home that night her date rambled on about the virtues of his ex compared to Lorelai. Luckily the guy seemed to like the sound of his own voice and required little to no interaction from Lorelai. The guy was attractive, tall with dark hair, blue eyes and a couple of days growth on his chin gave him a rugged look. Kind of like Luke she thought. 'LUKE! I should ring Luke, he'll pick me up' she decided. _Ding ding_ the bell sounded indicating the end of yet another 'date' she smiled tightly at the guy across from her, was his name Mark?

"Ladies and gents, there will now be a short break before our evening continues, please feel free to minge amongst yourselves" The lady from earlier announced. Seeing her sci-fi date from earlier starting to make a bee-line for her Lorelai hot footed it to the bathroom.

Reaching for her phone she quickly dialed the number for the apartment above the diner. "Come on Luke please answer, don't let this be the one night you choose not to be a hermit!" She muttered to herself.

"Oh thank god you're home! Luke I need help" Those four words were enough to make Luke sit up straight.

"What? Where are you? What's happened? Are you okay? Is Rory okay?"

"Luke calm down Rory is fine and I'm physically unharmed but I fear I may be mentally scarred after tonight!"

"Okay now i'm just confused, where are you?"

" I'm in a bar in Hartford and due to dire circumstances I'm a teensy bit too drunk to drive home"

"So you need a lift?"

"Bingo, top prize answer

"Whoopie for me, where are you?"

"So you'll come? Oh you're my knight in shining… plaid tonight! I'm at a bar called the Purple Lounge on Pearl Street, you know it?"

"The Purple Lounge? That sounds like a strip club, what kind of a place are you in?"

"Luuuke" she whined "Will you help me or not?"

"Pearl street did you say?" "Yeah" "I'll be there as soon as I can, I want a good prize for this!"

….

"What was it that made you think that speed dating would be a good idea again?" Luke asked smirking as he looked over at her and the delightful pout she was wearing following his explosive laughter as she told him about her night.

"It wasn't my idea, It's all Sara's fault. She got me roped into this then didn't even show! The whole night was a massive waste of time. One guy recited poetry to me in Klingon, it was not as romantic as you'd think. Though I'll give him credit that a guy has never done that to me before"

"Not a sci-fi fan? I'd have thought with the amount of tv you watch you'd appreciate the reference"

"Oh I did, but they don't call Klingon the language of love now do they? Trust me there's a reason for that!"

"Was it at least a good poem?" Luke asked still chuckling to himself

" How am I mean to know! I didn't stick around for the translation. Honestly five minutes doesn't sound like a long time but trust me it's plenty!"

"Didn't get the gut feeling with any of them then?"

" You can say that again! Did i mention the militant vegan?" She asked just as they were pulling up to her house.

" You had 5 minutes with this guy and you're calling him a militant vegan?"

"Well his first question was do I eat meat. To which I of course told him that burgers are one of my main food groups"

"Bet he loved to hear that…"

" Well then he spend the rest of our magical time together telling me that I was a murderer, oh hey we're home already… Want to come in for a beer? There are plenty more stories from tonight I can share" Luke was in two minds about whether to take the offer or not; despite grumbling about coming to pick her up he had to admit that he had enjoyed the journey back to the Hollow. Lorelai never failed to brighten his day, even when she was telling him about her disastrous dates her animated style and witty comments had him laughing his ass off for the whole drive. But he was only here because she was too drunk to drive, a good friend would make sure she got home safe and tell her to go to bed with some water. He was her friend after all wasn't he? But then again she didn't seem that drunk, not any more at least. He turned in his seat and she was looking at him with hopeful, sparkling eyes. 'What the hell' he thought.

"Sure a beer sounds good"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's the second chapter guys I hope you enjoy! P.S. same disclosure as before, these guys aren't mine but I wish they were. Especially Luke 

Four beers later and Luke was still sat with Lorelai, laughing with her at an anecdote of his latest run in with Taylor earlier in the day. " Man I'm sorry I missed that, I love seeing angry Luke. You're so funny when your face goes all red and your arms are gesturing wildly all over the place"

"Oh well I'm glad my discontent amuses you" Luke said with an eye roll.

"I think it's great that you get so passionate about things" She said seriously as she put her hand on his arm. Lorelai felt Luke's muscle flex beneath her hand as she lightly stroked his forearm, and what initially was meant as a comforting, friendly sort of gesture suddenly felt very intimate. Luke looked down at her hand on his arm, the delicate ivory of her skin looked almost luminous next to his. When he looked up again he found Lorelai staring at him intently as if she was studying his face for something.

"You have very pretty eyes, you know that?" she finally said, surprising him with her comment.

"Lorelai" Luke said in a warning tone but blushing nonetheless.

"No I mean it, they're a beautiful colour, and you have such great eyelashes too! Man I'd kill to have your eyelashes, I'd save a fortune on mascara! I wonder why I've never noticed before"

"You're drunk"

"Yes I am, you got a problem with that big boy" She said with a giggle and a wink.

"I'm going to get you some water, stay there" Luke said standing up, already missing the contact as her hand fell away from his arm.

"Here you go, I got you these too, I thought they might help soak up some of the alcohol" Luke said holding the bottle of water and a plate of graham crackers out to Lorelai.

Taking the offering in front of her Lorelai greedily started eating as if she she hadn't seen food for days. "Woah there, take it easy and drink some of that water too, you don't want to choke". Her playful eyes met his concerned ones and she reached out and hugged his middle, pulling him to her and knocking him off balance in the process. Luke tumbled down onto the couch next to Lorelai where she was now practically on top of him. "Oh Lucas you look after me so well!"

"Don't call me Lucas!" Luke groaned half out of annoyance and half out of arousal. Lorelai was still hugging him, pressing her warm soft curves against him and she was looking at him with such an adoration in that moment. She looked like a drunken angel. Drunken being the key word Luke thought. Fighting back the urge to act on his desires Luke picked up Lorelai's abandoned water bottle. "Drink" he urged as he pressed the bottle back into her hand. Knowing he should probably leave he started to stand up only for Lorelai to reach out and grab his hand.

"Please stay with me a bit longer" She urged, not wanting Luke to leave but not really understanding why. She just felt it, in her stomach, that she wanted him there. Luke had never been able to refuse Lorelai anything and so against his better judgement he stayed.

Luke woke up early the next morning feeling groggy and disorientated. He was still in Lorelai's house he realised as he took in his surroundings. His neck ached from the awkward angle he had slept in, half propped up in the corner of the couch. Looking down he remembered the reason for his unusual sleeping position. Lorelai had fallen asleep with her head in his lap, her curls fanned out across his jeans and her hand resting on his knee. She looked so perfect and peaceful, Luke had never seen her so still before. Almost the second that this thought crossed his mind Lorelai shifted in her sleep and nuzzled her 'pillow', lightly pressing against Luke's crotch in the process. Realising what her close proximity to that area could do and not wanting her to be woken up by an early morning surprise Luke gently slid out from underneath her. He replaced his lap with a throw pillow and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch over her slumbering form. Before he left he gathered a 'hangover kit' for her; leaving another bottle of water and some Advil within easy reach for her on the coffee table. Taking one last look at her he couldn't resist gently brushing aside a rogue curl that had tumbled across her face, her brow puckered slightly at the contact but she didn't wake up.

As Luke backed his truck down the drive he failed to notice one of Stars Hollow's residence gossips as she let her cat out the front door. Unfortunately for Luke and Lorelai, Babette didn't fail to notice him.

...

Anyone with a cat will tell you that they have a habit of waking their owners up nice and early; sometimes they want food, sometimes they want to play or sometimes they just want some attention. That particular morning Cinnamon had spotted a nice juicy looking bird outside the window and so had made his desire to go outside known very noisily in the Dell household. Babette was still rubbing the sleep from her eyes when she opened the door that morning, and when she saw Luke coming out the door of her neighbour's house she rubbed them again thinking she was seeing things. Lorelai's house had been in darkness when Babette and Morey had gone to bed last night, had Lorelai been out with Luke she wondered to herself. It certainly looked like Luke had spent the night there, and wasn't that the same shirt that he was wearing when she saw him in the diner yesterday?. Bursting with excitement from her discovery Babette hurried inside. She internally debated if it was still too early to call Patty, Stars Hollow's other reigning gossip queen valued her beauty sleep. Babette was desperate to tell someone and as much as she loved her husband, Morey just wouldn't appreciate how hot this gossip truly was. Looking at the clock on the wall Babette crossed her fingers hoping Patty would forgive her for waking her up once she heard the news. "Patty I've got a juicy one for ya" she called out in her raspy voice before her friend could tell her off for waking her up so early.

And so the rumour mill started turning and the news swept through town that the local diner owner was seen leaving the Gilmore house in the early hours of the morning. Once Patty had been informed it was only a matter of time before the busybodies of Stars Hollow were filling up the diner. If Luke noticed any of the whispering or meaningful looks his customers were sharing that day then he didn't acknowledge it. What he did notice however was how busy it had been all morning with people lingering over their food and ordering refill after refill on their coffee. If they were waiting for Lorelai to show up then they were going to be disappointed that morning, as the lovely Gilmore girl had overslept and was running too late to stop by for her usual Luke's coffee fix.

Lorelai had woken up that morning, much the same as Luke had, feeling dazed and confused. She could tell from the amount of light in the room that she had slept late, and when she finally opened her eyes properly she realised why. She was still downstairs on the couch, a whole floor separating her and her alarm clock, no wonder she had slept through the alarm. As she sat up she felt a thumping in her skull and was immediately grateful to see the Advil and a bottle of water in front of her. Smiling to herself as she realised that Luke must have left them there for her.

Twenty minutes later after a shower and the pain relief Lorelai was feeling marginally more human. However it felt like one step forward and two steps back the moment she stepped out onto her porch and remembered that she didn't have her car. Damn it! She thought as she set out on foot for the inn, thankful that she had opted to wear flats rather than heels that morning. By the time she got to the inn she was well beyond late, she was so far past late that they should be grateful that she showed up at all that day. Avoiding the lobby and therefore delaying any snarky comments from Michel, Lorelai headed straight for the sanctuary of the kitchen to worship at the altar of the coffee machine. She had barely taken one sip of the precious nectar before a squealing Sookie was at her side.

"Sookie sweetie, tone it down a touch I think you may have just gone super sonic" Lorelai winced as the pounding in her head returned with a vengeance.

"Oh I'm sorry I'm just so excited! You need to tell me what happened last night!" Lorelai was used to her friend's perky and bubbly attitude but this seemed excessive even for her over the thought of Lorelai going speed dating. Confused by Sookie's enthusiastic question Lorelai took a long swig from her coffee mug before responding.

"Oh Sook the whole thing was just terrible from start to finish" Hearing this Sookie's face fell.

"What?! Really? God I never imagined that! Not that I imagined you and Luke having sex before, well not really. But I'd have thought it would have been hot you know, full of passion. The way you guys flirt sometimes you can cut the sexual tension with a knife…" When Lorelai's brain finally caught up to what Sookie was saying she nearly choked on her coffee.

"Sook what are you talking about? Why do you think I had sex with Luke? I was talking about the speed dating event I went too!"

"Ohhh yeah, I'd forgotten about the speed dating thing. Well it's all over town that Luke was seen leaving your house this morning in yesterday's clothes. Jackson heard it from Mrs Cassini, who heard it from…"

"Sook I don't need to know the whole gossip train. Oh my god Luke is going to kill me if he hears this! It's all my fault, I got drunk at speed dating and asked Luke for a lift and then last night I was feeling needy I guess and asked him to stay with me. We must have both fallen asleep on the couch. Fully clothed I might add. Why has everyone assumed that we slept together, Luke is my friend it's not a ridiculous idea that he could have just crashed out at mine?"

"Really there was no sex? Aww man Kirk is going to be so disappointed to give the pool money back" Sookie looked genuinely disappointed to have the gossip refuted by her friend. She could see the attraction between Luke and Lorelai as clear as day, she really felt that it was only a matter of time before one or the other of them took the plunge.

"Pool? What pool?" Lorelai asked with a hint of panic in her voice.

"Oh it's been going on for years, half the town have bets on when you guys would finally hook up. People have to keep updating their guesses because you guys have danced around this for so long…" Noticing the growing anger in her friends disposition Sookie's voice trailed out to barely a whisper.

"What the hell Sook, please tell me you haven't taken part in this? Why did you never think to mention that half the town has a running bet on the state of my love life!"

"No Kirk made a big fuss about me possibly having insider knowledge. Lorelai sweetie don't get upset about this. This may sound like everyone is a little too involved, but in their own kooky way it shows how much they all care about you guys. Everyone can see what a great couple you guys would make. We all just want to see you happy"

"I'm still mad about this" Lorelai said pouting but she said it with a softer tone than before and with much less conviction. "If Luke finds out about this though he's going to flip! Oh god I need to go speak to him"

Most of Lorelai's anger dissipated on her way over to the diner. She was still on foot so the journey took longer than usual and it gave her time to do a lot of thinking. Sookie had said that half the town was willing her and Luke to get together, maybe it was time for her to give some serious thought to the matter. Luke was an attractive guy, she could admit that. She had caught herself checking out his impeccable ass on more than one occasion and throughout their friendship there had been plenty of special moments between them. She had often thought over the years that Luke looked on the verge of kissing her but always one or the other of them would pull away and break the moment. He could also be incredibly sweet when he wanted to be, especially towards Rory. She still remembered how he took time out of his busy day to attend a caterpillar's funeral just because Rory had invited him. That bond that he shared with Rory was unique to any other man in her life, he genuinely cared for and was interested in Rory for her own brilliant personality irrespective of the fact that she was her mother. He was a great friend to both the Gilmore girls. Always willing to help them out when they asked, sometimes even when they didn't ask. He had a knack for being able to produce a slice of pie to put a smile on the face of either one of the girls when called for. Yes Luke was a great friend, but could he be more than that?

Bracing herself for the news she was about to impart Lorelai took a deep breath as she stepped into the diner, the bells overhead jingling to announce her arrival. As if on cue a hush fell over the crowd and all eyes were on Luke and Lorelai as she approached the counter. Noticing the weird shift in the atmosphere Lorelai leaned in towards Luke and said quietly

"Hey you got a minute to talk?" Then quickly adding "In private"

Luke raised his eyebrows and nodded "Sure. Caesar I'm taking a break." Gesturing towards the curtain Luke led Lorelai upstairs and away from the prying eyes and ears in the diner. The moment the curtain fell closed behind them the gossiping re-commenced with a vengeance.

"Did you see that? Definitely something going on" "Probably going up there for a nooner…"

"What the hell is going on with people today, they've been acting nuttier than normal all morning" Luke said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well that's kind of what I came to talk to you about." Lorelai looked at him uncertainly and took a deep breath. "Everyone in town apparently thinks we're sleeping together"

"What else is new, Babette and Miss Patty have been making comments like that for years" Luke replied with a sceptical expression.

"No I mean they really think it now, Babette saw you leaving my house this morning"

"Oh god!"

"Hey don't sound so offended buddy!"

"That's not what I mean. I just hate being the topic of gossip"

"Yeah I know, erm this gets worse actually. Do you want some tea? Some nice calming tea? Camomile or something.." "Lorelai I don't need tea just tell me what the hell is going on?" Luke interrupted her rambling.

"Erm well see the thing is, apparently there's this pool and half the town have made bets on when we were going to get together"

"THEY WHAT!" Luke exploded. The customers downstairs looked up at the ceiling then quickly rushed to pay before a furious Luke came downstairs and unleashed his rage on them all.

"Hey don't shout at me! I'm not the one running this thing. I've only just found out myself and I thought it would be best if you heard this from me so that you wouldn't murder anyone, because I really don't think orange is your colour and then who would make my coffee?"

"I still might murder someone" Luke said, his face was red and his hands were clenched. "What gives any of them the right to discuss this? Surely our relationship only concerns me and you?

Luke was angry, really angry. But was he angry that people would think that they were together or just angry that they had an opinion at all? Sensing this may not be the time to explore any potential more than friendly feelings between them Lorelai decided to let that train of thought drop. But just for the moment.

"Hey do you want to get out of town with me for a bit? I still need to go collect my car and I think some space between you and the citizens of Stars Hollow might be wise for the moment"

Huffing out a big sigh Luke hung his head. Was that all he was to her? Somebody to run around after her? When she says jump I say how high he thought to himself. He had thought they had a moment last night, when she was looking into his eyes he thought he could see sparks there. But maybe she had just been drunk? Who knows he thought sadly, realising that once again he was too scared to push for something more at the risk of losing her friendship when she rejected him. She was right about one thing though, getting out of town for an hour or two did sound like a good idea. 

A/N: So they're still not admitting anything to each other, but we're getting there. I'm part way done with the next chapter so I'll hopefully have it up soon. In the mean time please let me know what you think in your reviews.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This is just a short chapter to keep you going, hope you all enjoy.

...

"Thanks for the lift, again" Lorelai said as they pulled to a stop just behind where she had parked her car last night. "I'm really sorry about all the gossip today, it's my fault you were even out in the first place last night. I really do appreciate you rescuing me like that, and then staying with me when I asked" She leaned across the seat in the truck and pulled Luke into a hug. They didn't hug much as a general rule and Luke was taken aback by her gesture at first before he allowed his hands to find a comfortable place; one in the middle of her back and one placed lightly on the back of her head. Her hair felt so soft and silky and the intoxicating scent from her cherry blossom shampoo filled his nose.

"You're welcome, anytime you know that" he finally answered as she loosened her grip on him and pulled back to get out of the truck.

"Well it's greatly appreciated" She said with a smile, she felt slightly high with the smell of him in her nose. He smelt distinctly Luke, an odd description but no other fitted. It was unique to him and it made Lorelai's head spin in a delicious way. "So I'll see you back in town then? Are you going to the town meeting tonight? I'm not sure I want to face them all on my own"

Luke groaned when she reminded him about the town meeting. He'd really rather not go at all but he still had a bone to pick with Taylor. "Actually yes, If Taylor was being serious about his Stepford ideas on how the buildings in the square should look then I want to be there to object. There is no way in hell he can make me take down the hardware sign and put up a stupid awning." Smiling at Luke's feisty response she fumbled around in her bag trying to find her car keys.

...

Luke was still pretty angry with around half the town about the pool and the general gossip about him and Lorelai but he begrudgingly went to the town meeting that had been threatening to pass through a rule about the colours of all the awnings and displays on the buildings in the town square and Luke needed to shoot down that idea before it took route. He settled in the back row ready to argue his point when the time came, a few minutes later Lorelai plonked down in the seat next to him. A few townies looked at them with meaningful glances but Luke shot daggers in warning at anyone who caught his eye. The majority of the meeting was the same old stuff until finally Taylor said "Now for our next matter of business we'd like to settle the matter of Luke and Lorelai's supposed relationship. There has been a dispute amongst some town folk about the outcome of a certain long running pool and to whom the money should go"

"What the hell is this!" Luke shouted as Lorelai dropped her bag in shock, forgetting all about her hunt for the red vines she had stashed in there.

"I won the money" Kirk exclaimed "I had the closest date out of everyone"

"Yeah but that's only if it started the night before Babette caught Luke leaving Lorelai's. For all we know this could have been going on for ages" Gypsy argued back. She had a personal interest in the outcome of this as her latest guess was for a date of only a month ago.

"I did see Lorelai coming home with that big bag from Victoria's Secret last week" Babette added.

"Babette they were pyjamas!" Lorelai exclaimed her eyes wide with shock.

Unconvinced Babette shrugged and said "Sure sure Sugar"

Bootsy leaned across the aisle and whispered with a conspiratorial wink "Victoria's Secret, you lucky man Luke" Luke whipped his head round at this and shot a menacing stare back "Cut it out Bootsy there's nothing going on" he practically growled. He never had liked Bootsy that much, and he really didn't like the way he looked at Lorelai now. It was as if he was trying to picture her Victoria's Secret purchase. Feeling a protective instinct shoot through him Luke stood up. "I've had enough of this! There's nothing going on between me and Lorelai and even if there was it would be none of your damn business!"

Luke's face looked like thunder and Lorelai could see how white the skin was across his knuckles as he balled up his fists in anger. "We're not together, really everybody" She said as she stood up with him in solidarity.

"Prove it!" a voice that sounded a lot like Fran Weston shouted from somewhere in the packed studio.

"What?" Luke and Lorelai chorused in unison, confusion knitting both of their brows.

"Prove it, kiss him and then tell us there's nothing going on" the same voice called again. It was always the sweet old dears who surprised you Lorelai thought.

"We are not kissing in front of all of you!" Luke crossed his arms in front of his chest, the defensive stance hiding how embarrassed he actually felt.

"See they're hiding something" another townie added. Where were all these different voices coming from, Lorelai didn't even recognise that voice. She was so distracted wondering why so many people cared about her relationship with Luke that she was startled by what happened next.

"Oh for goodness sake" Luke mumbled as he turned towards Lorelai and placed a soft kiss on her lips. It was a bare whisper of a kiss but a jolt of electricity shot through them both and Lorelai's voice wavered when she said "See, nothing…"

"Call that a kiss" Miss Patty hollered

"Alright people that's enough of all this nonsense" Taylor interrupted before Patty could demand any more 'proof' "If Luke and Lorelai say there's nothing going on then we should all believe them and call this matter closed. Now if there is no more urgent business I'll call this meeting over and I'll see you all again next week when we'll be discussing plans for the fund raiser for the bridge."

"Come on let's get out of here quick before we get accosted by Patty or Babette for another show and tell" Lorelai said as she picked her bag up from where it had fallen on the floor earlier.

...

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I didn't get nearly as much time to write as I'd anticipated this weekend so I've broken the next section up into two chapters so I can get this first part posted today, the next part will hopefully be up later in the week.

As always these characters are not mine, although I wish they were.

I'd like to say a quick thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review so far, it's really encouraging to hear how much you are enjoying the story!

...

"Come on let's get out of here quick before we get accosted by Patty or Babette for another show and tell" Lorelai said as she picked her bag up from where it had fallen on the floor earlier.

Luke didn't need to be told twice, with his hand on Lorelai's elbow he quickly guided them both out of the studio and towards the refuge of the diner. Lorelai was practically running to keep up with Luke's long strides but with their quick pace they managed to escape before anybody from the meeting had chance to make any more comments to either of them.

Once safely inside the diner Luke re-locked the door behind them and started pulling down the blinds to give them some privacy from the curious townies who had started to follow them to continue their viewing of the Luke and Lorelai show. "It's like living in a damn fish tank" he muttered to himself as Kirk took up a spot in front of one of the windows after finding the diner door locked. Luke glared at the small group who had gathered outside as he pulled the last blind down, creating a private little world for him and Lorelai away from the town crazies.

"So…" Luke started awkwardly, "Do you want some coffee?" Not waiting for a response Luke started brewing a new batch, desperate for something to focus on other than the tingle he still felt on his lips.

"Hey Luke"

"Yeah?" Placing a steaming mug down on the counter in front of her Luke finally allowed himself to look at her but she was studiously looking down at her mug. Her finger lightly traced the rim as she said "We just kissed"

" I remember" He said with a smile.

"I-I just wasn't expecting that. But I liked it. A lot." She finally met his gaze as she spoke her eyes were wide blue saucers. Seeing the smile break out across his face at her words did wonders to dampen down her nerves "I'd like to try it again maybe"

"Only maybe?" Luke asked with a grin as he rounded the counter to stand in front of her.

"Or definitely…" Luke took that as his cue, his hands gently framed either side of her face as he tilted it up to meet his. Their lips met softly at first, but this was already much more that the ghost of a kiss they had shared in the studio. Luke angled his head as Lorelai threaded her fingers around his neck and toyed with the ends of his hair. She ran her tongue lightly across his bottom lip, asking for permission to deepen the kiss. Permission Luke willingly granted. Eventually they broke apart both panting for breath.

"So are we still so sure there's nothing going on here?" Lorelai's eyes twinkled playfully as she asked this. She ran her hands across his shoulders and down his arms taking great pleasure in the feel of the strong muscles she found there. Her fingers splayed out around his biceps, her thumbs lightly stroking backwards and forwards, mirroring the movement of Luke's hands on her hips. "Lorelai I would very much like for there to be something going on here" His voice was low and husky and it sent a shiver of anticipation up Lorelai's spine. "Would you like to go to dinner with me?"

"Dinner hmmm? Well they do say the way to a girl's heart is through her stomach"

"I thought the promise of food would be a good enticement knowing you" Luke laughed, they were both still holding each other close neither one of them wanting to break contact just yet. "Is that a yes?" Lorelai simply nodded her response before her lips were once again claiming his. Luke started placing feathery kisses along her jaw until he found that sweet sensitive spot just below her ear. "Does tomorrow work for you?" Lorelai asked breathily her eyes closed as Luke continued to work his magic down her neck. She gasped as he sucked gently on her pulse point then soothed it with his tongue. She knew that would leave a mark on her delicate skin but she found it hard to care at the present time. "Tomorrow's good" Luke managed to murmur in response as he furthered his exploration of her skin. She tasted sweet, like a peach almost. Whatever the flavour was Luke found it addictive, he had worked his way down Lorelai's long slim neck and was just starting to tease the flesh across the top of her breasts when Lorelai's cell started ringing. Reluctantly Luke tore his mouth away from her heaving chest and stepped back slightly but not fully breaking contact with her, his hands still gently caressing her hips. Lorelai gave him an apologetic smile as she pulled her phone out of her bag. Seeing the call ID said Rory she took a big steadying breath to hide her excited state. "Hi sweets what's up? Oh yeah erm I had a cup of coffee at Luke's after the meeting, I'm coming home now see you soon"

As she hung up she noticed the time. "No wonder Rory's calling me the meeting finished nearly two hours ago! Man time really does fly when you're having fun. As much as I'd love to stay here and continue having… fun, I really need to get home. I should probably talk to Rory about us too before tomorrow" Luke's smile faltered slightly, would Rory have a problem with them being together? He knew how close the girls were so Rory's opinion could be a deciding factor in the future of any relationship between him and Lorelai. Noticing the worried look on his face Lorelai brushed her fingers through his hair soothingly. "Hey don't worry about this, Rory loves you and she loves me so she'll be happy for us. At least I hope she will, I'll talk to her".

Trusting that Lorelai knew her daughter best Luke tried to push his worries aside. They had finally both opened their eyes at the same time, he didn't want this chance to just disappear again. "Come on I'll drive you home"


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hello all, so sorry for the delay in posting this. I first wrote this chapter weeks ago and as I was reading it back to myself I found it sooo boring so that version went to the scrap heap. Then life got busy and weeks went by before I had a decent amount of free time for any writing. I hope after the long wait this chapter isn't a disappointment because I'm much happier with it now.

As always these characters are not mine and I'd love to hear what you all think about this chapter. P.S. this is the concluding chapter to my little story. Enjoy!

...

"Hi sweets I'm home, how did you get on with that paper?"

"Great I'd just finished it when I rang you, the peace and quiet around here tonight helped. Did I miss anything good at the town meeting?"

"Erm the meeting… yeah ...Hey do you feel like ice cream, I feel like ice cream. I'll go and see if we have my two favourite boys in the freezer"

"Mom you're babbling, what are you avoiding telling me?" Rory said slipping into the parent voice she sometimes adopted when her mom needed to snap out of something.

"ThetownthinksthatmeandLukearetogetherandwekissedandnowithinkweactuallyare" The words practiacally exploded out of Lorelai's mouth all on one breath. She looked sheepishly at Rory as the young girl processed the splurge of speech just thrown at her.

"Ok I think you need to back up and explain some more of this. Why did the town think you guys were together?"

The girls sat together on the sofa with a tub of Phish Food between them as Lorelai filled Rory in on the events of the last couple of days ending with her heated makeout session at the diner.

"Ok mom before you go any further with this story I want to remind you not to tell me anything that may scar me for life. Save all the gorey details for Sookie if you need to share them with anyone"

"You're such a spoil sport" Lorelai said laughing. She didn't actually intend on give any 'gorey' details away to anybody. She felt quite protective of her encounter with Luke, this was special and call her selfish but she didn't want to have to share that moment with anybody else but Luke. Rory observed her mother carefully as she was momentarily lost in her own thoughts. It was rare to see her mom so unguarded, she had a soft dreamy expression on her face.

"You look happy" Rory finally said, this brought Lorelai out of her thoughts and back into the room.

"I am kid, or at least I think I could be. Would you be ok with me and Luke dating?" She looked nervously at her daughter as she waited for her response.

"Mom I love you both and I want you to be happy, but equally I don't want either of you to get hurt. I don't think you should ignore this thing with Luke but I just want you to be careful. This is Luke, our Luke, if things go sour you can't just cut him out of your life."

"I know and I think that's what kept me from admitting a long time ago how I felt about him. But I'm not sure I can go back to being friends with him without at least trying to be something more first."

"Well I'm not going to stop you, just promise me I'll never run into a half naked Luke in our kitchen and I'll be happy"

"Mmm a half naked Luke, cooking me breakfast now that is a delicious thought" Lorelai giggled as Rory made a disgusted face and threw a cushion at her mother.

"And on that disturbing note I'm going to read in my room and try to banish that mental image you've just given me."

…

With Rory's seal of approval Lorelai felt much happier about the prospect of her date with Luke. She spent the whole of the next day as a bundle of excited nerves and rather than be distracted from her work all day she seemed to power through all her tasks as if she was running on adrenaline. In a first for her she was even ready early for her date that night, but of course she didn't want to seem too eager so she paced her bedroom waiting for Luke to arrive so she could make her entrance on the stairs like all the best Hollywood stars would. A knock. That was definitely a knock. She rushed to the window and sure enough Luke's truck was parked at the end of her drive. With one last look in the mirror as she passed she nodded to herself, pleased with the look she had put together for the evening. It was feminine but not overly dressy she wore her best jeans, the ones which made her ass look fantastic, with a pretty shirt and heels.

As she came down the stairs she spotted Luke and Rory talking in the living room and my oh my did he look good. He'd ditched the flannel for an open necked blue shirt and some dark grey slacks. Oh yes I'm going to like dating Luke she thought.

"Hi" she said simply, almost shyly as she reached the bottom landing on the stairs. Luke smiled widely as he noticed her, she looked beautiful but then again when did he not think she looked beautiful.

"Hey, you ready?"

"Yep I'm all good. Ok bye sweets" She said giving Rory a quick hug "I've left money for pizza on the kitchen table, try and have the party wrapped up and the keg gone by the time mommy gets home" she said with a laugh and a wink and then she was being ushered out the door by Luke.

"You err" cough "You look beautiful" Luke said as he backed the truck down the drive.

"Thanks, you clean up pretty well yourself. I can't remember the last time I saw you without your flannel armour" Keeping his gaze on the road he raised an eyebrow and replied "My armour?"

"Yeah it's like Clark Kent and his glasses. You put your flannel on and poof you're grumpy diner man. Take it off and you're sexy dating Luke. We can't have Miss Patty see sexy dating Luke she'd have a corornary, hence the need for flannel armour." Luke bristled slightly at this, he didn't want Lorelai to try to start changing him into the metrosexual types she normally goes for. He'd do pretty much anything for Lorelai but if she didn't like him without changing him what chance would they have long term.

"You don't like my flannel?" He asked, trying to sound more casual than he felt.

"Of course I do, it's part of you, but I love that I get to see this other side of you too. It makes me feel kind of special." Mollified by her answer Luke relaxed again, "So you think I'm sexy?" He asked with a smirk.

…

They sat across from one another in a secluded corner of the restaurant, this corner held lots of potential for a romantic encounter. Unfortunately none of that potential was currently being fulfilled. The candle flickered between them as wax slowly dripped down the side and onto its holder made from a former wine bottle. Everyone around was chattering merrily, everyone except for Luke and Lorelai that is. The banter in the truck had been so promising, it had been thick with the sexual tension that usually surrounds their what went wong? It was like a switch had been flipped the moment they sat down at their table. They suddenly became very aware that they were on a date and they both froze up, the pressure ramped up in intensity.

"Let's speed date" Lorelai blurted unexpectedly. Luke tore his eyes away from the dripping wax to look at her.

"What? I know the conversation isn't exactly flying, but you can't just get up and go talk to another guy in the middle of our date Lorelai!"

"No not like that! Let's pretend this is a speed date and we don't know each other, what would you say to me?"

"But we do know each other, this is stupid." Luke scratched the back of his head, he was frustrated at himself that the date was not going at all like he'd hoped it would.

"Come on Luke this might help clear the cobwebs off our conversation. My words per minute have reached an all time low here, I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms."

"Fine okay. Erm, my name is Luke and I live in Stars Hollow, have done all my life. I have my own business, a diner which I opened in my father's old hardware store after he died." Luke paused and smiled as an idea came to him of what to say next. " The diner is pretty special to me, it's the place my life changed forever because it's the place I met a crazy caffeine addict with the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen." Lorelai sucked in a huge breath as the meaning of his words sunk in. She was floored that she meant that much to him, she was speechless but this time it was for a much better reason.

"The day we met, I don't know if you remember, but you were bugging me for some coffee and I told you to be quiet and wait you turn. Then you asked me when my birthday was and lord knows why but I told you, next thing I know you pass me my horoscope torn out of the newspaper and underneath you'd written 'You will meet an annoying woman today. Give her coffee and she'll go away' You told me to keep hold of that horoscope, put it in my wallet, and carry it around with me one day it would bring me luck" He pulled a small scrap of paper from his wallet and held it out to Lorelai. "So did it work? Has it brought me luck?"

Lorelai stared at the horoscope in her hands "I can't believe you kept this for all those years, this is incredible" She brought her eyes up to meet his and her hand sought out his across the table top. "I think your lucky charm might have worked" she replied with a smile, her eyes full of wonder as she gazed into his. Just like that the cobwebs had been blasted away, they spent the rest of the meal talking and flirting their earlier mutism all but forgotten.

…

"So" kiss "when" kiss "do" kiss "we" kiss "tell" kiss "people" kiss "about" kiss "us?" Luke's well intentioned good night kiss had long since turned into a steamy makeout session on Lorelai's front porch. She was pressed up against the wall next to the front door, her hands were in his hair and his were busy exploring her curves. "Do we have to tell them? Can't we just see if they notice?" Luke replied quickly before his lips started trailing across Lorelai's jaw and down the column of her neck. "There may be a good chance half the town already knows if Babette has looked out her window in the last ten minutes" Luke sighed and hung his head his mood slightly dampened at the thought of being the subject of town gossip once again.

"Man I hate how nosey everyone is in this town. I don't want anyone to have the satisfaction of winning the money in that damn pool!"

"So maybe we don't tell them? We let them work it out for themselves and we refuse to tell them when this all started? We can tell Taylor to make sure the money goes towards something for the town, that'll get him on our side at least."

"Normally anything that would make Taylor happy would torment me, but in this case I think it's the lesser of two evils. Smart and pretty, you sure you're still interested me?"

With a seductive smile Lorelai pulled Luke in for another teasing kiss "Oh most definitely".


End file.
